The New York Jets are coming off a season-sinking loss to the New England Patriots, yet still find themselves as 2.5-point favorites over the visiting Houston Texans on Thursday Night Football. Can they show some fight against a Texans team without two of its top wideouts?

For those unfamiliar, single-game slates feature five flex spots with identical scoring to the main slate. However, kickers are included in these contests, and there is an "MVP" roster slot. The MVP receives 1.5 times his total fantasy points, making this spot crucial.

FanDuel Research's Brandon Gdula has done a deep dive on single-game strategy, and FanDuel Research has NFL DFS projections if you select the game from the slate tab. It's worth checking out both before making your lineups.

All NFL projections via our numbers at FanDuel Research, and NFL odds references are to FanDuel Sportsbook.

Texans at Jets NFL DFS Picks

MVP Candidates

Running backs Joe Mixon ($16,500) and Breece Hall ($14,500) lead the way in our NFL DFS projections, and both are clear options to build around at MVP.

Mixon has perhaps the league's most voluminous role at running back. Across his four healthy games, he's averaged 30.8 adjusted opportunities (carries plus 2x targets) and 142.0 scrimmage yards, scoring 24+ FanDuel points in all four instances. When factoring in both carries and targets in the red zone, he's also hogged a 56.1% RZ opportunity share in that sample. It really doesn't get much better than that, and the Jets are an average rush defense.

As for Hall, he's logged 30, 30, and 22 adjusted opportunities while averaging an 80.7% snap rate since Todd Downing took over play-calling duties. He's turned that workload into 169, 141, and 89 scrimmage yards. While his RZ opportunity share over that span isn't quite as robust as Mixon's (33.3%), this is still MVP-worthy usage we can get behind. Houston hasn't given up a ton of FanDuel points to opposing backfields, but they're actually 22nd in schedule-adjusted rush defense by numberFire's metrics, adding some optimism to this matchup.

C.J. Stroud ($15,000) hasn't been able to duplicate the fantasy success of his rookie campaign, and being without both Nico Collins (injured reserve) and Stefon Diggs (out for the season) won't make things any easier. He's averaging an underwhelming 16.0 FanDuel points per game, and this isn't an ideal matchup versus a Jets defense that's given up the fifth-fewest FanDuel points per game to QBs. Quarterbacks can never be written off completely as single-slate MVP candidates, but I prefer Stroud as a flex play.

On the other hand, those wide receiver injuries make Tank Dell ($12,000) intriguing despite disappointing box-score results for most of the year. In three games with Collins out, Dell has a decent 19.8% target share, and now Diggs' 26.7% share over that sample is up for grabs. Dell has scored a touchdown in two of those three weeks, which is backed by a 33.3% red zone target share and 42.9% end zone target share. New York has allowed the second-fewest FanDuel points per target to wide receivers, but Tank's elevated role could still be worth chasing.

Garrett Wilson ($13,000) and Davante Adams ($10,500) have played two games together, and Wilson has maintained the more fantasy-friendly role with a 26.6% target share and 54.3% air yards share compared to 23.4% and 22.2% for Adams. Although Houston has a league-best 43.8% QB pressure rate, per NFL Next Gen Stats, and is fourth in adjusted pass defense, they've still allowed the eighth-most FanDuel points per game to WRs.

Like most quarterbacks, Aaron Rodgers ($13,000) projects well on a single-game slate, but it's hard to get excited about him as an MVP. He's exceeded 20 FanDuel points just once this season, and it came back in Week 3.

Flex Targets

Xavier Hutchinson ($10,000) -- Hutchinson ran 62.5% of the routes in Week 8 and figures to be the No. 2 Houston wideout with Diggs out. However, what's worrisome is he's seen just four targets total over the three games with Collins out.

Braelon Allen ($9,500) -- After rarely seeing the field in Weeks 6 and 7, Allen saw a bump in snap rate last week (33.3%), and he even logged a season-high 12 carries. Given how little he's otherwise been utilized, it's still tough to trust him at this salary.

Ka'imi Fairbairn ($9,000) -- This game has a modest 42.5 total, so the kickers have a reasonable chance of landing on the optimal lineup. Fairbairn has been one of fantasy's top kickers, scoring double-digit points in four straight games. Either Riley Patterson ($9,000) or Spencer Shrader ($9,000) will kick for New York tonight, but as of this writing, it isn't clear which one it will be yet.

Houston Texans D/ST ($8,500) -- As noted earlier, the Texans pressure the quarterback at a high clip, which has helped them to the NFL's third-most sacks (27). Aaron Rodgers can drink all the cayenne pepper and water he wants, but he's a sitting duck for these Texans as he battles various lower body ailments, and six of his seven interceptions have come this month.

Dalton Schultz ($8,000) -- Schultz has an 18.6% target share with Collins out and figures to see that number rise following Diggs' injury. With that in mind, he's arguably one of the better value options.

Tyler Conklin ($7,500) -- Conklin has a 12.5% target share since Davante Adams joined the Jets, and a 40.0% end zone target share has helped him to a touchdown in each of those two games. He likely needs another TD to post a worthwhile score tonight.

John Metchie III ($7,500) and Robert Woods ($7,000) -- Metchie and Woods should both play more due to Houston's injuries, but neither one has made much of an impact this season. For what it's worth, the receiving yardage prop lines for Hutchinson, Metchie, and Woods are all bunched between 17.5-20.5 yards.

Mike Williams ($7,000) -- With Allen Lazard ruled out for the second straight week, Williams figures to come close to the 65.5% route rate he recorded in Week 8, but that role still didn't lead to any targets.

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The above author is a FanDuel employee and is not eligible to compete in public daily fantasy contests or place sports betting wagers on FanDuel. The advice provided by the author does not necessarily represent the views of FanDuel. Taking the author's advice will not guarantee a successful outcome. You should use your own judgment when participating in daily fantasy contests or placing sports wagers.